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Pedler / The Pedler HR

Serial #E21640 marked at the top of the LH joint and bottom of the RH jointBarrel: I don’t have the original barrel. Using 64.2 Ridenour barrel.Bore LH joint top: 15.0mmBore LH joint at bottom: 15.0mm

Intonation results taken when playing loud and not lipping. See how to interpret these results on the Model Comparison Page.

For this test, I pulled 0.7 at the barrel and 1.1 in the center for this horn.

High register

Android DaTuner

F

-1

E

0

D

0

C

14

B

10

B-flat

2

A

3

Mid

G

0

F

0

E

-3

D

3

C

0

B

-17

Throat tones

Bb

-3

A

3

G

0

F

3

E

3

Chalemeau

D

5

C

5

B-flat

6

A

8

G

9

F

-12

E

-16

Intonation summary: For a wide bore clarinet, this is very good intonation. The low E and middle B could be improved with a hole in the bell.

Key work quality: Very sturdy. This clarinet shows that it was made with students in mind.

This clarinet is most appropriate for: Students from beginning to intermediate.

This is the first clarinet that I have made into Phil Pedler's KIS system, KIS of course standing for “Keep It Simple.”

Pedler KIS

The idea of Phil's KIS system is

to reduce complication for the player

to make the clarinet more like a folk instrument, easier to play for the adult learner

to reduce finger errors, leaks, and frequent adjustment problems due to key linkages

On the KIS clarinet, there is only one way to play each note. There are two less keys for the right pinkie, and one less key for the left pinkie. The left and right ring fingers only close their respective holes, and don't have the extra keys used in chromatic passages. This eliminates the key that most often causes problems because of being accidentally hit— the left ring finger Eb/Bb key. There is no bridge key between the left and right joints, eliminating a common adjustment problem.

Changing a normal Boehm system into a KIS system is an option to consider for some vintage instruments which have softer key metal. Because the key linkages have been eliminated, the softer key metal is no longer a problem

Trade-offs: Fingering is both easier and harder. There is less confusion because there is only one way to finger each note, but one needs to learn to slide with both pinkie fingers, plus low E and F# must be played using both pinkies. (Also middle B and C#.) An advantage of the KIS system is that one is trained to use the primary fingerings for all notes using the pinkie keys. Even with the normal Boehm system, there are rare passages where one still needs to slide between keys. So being able to slide using the primary fingerings is a skill worth learning. Because of the increased need for pinkie-sliding, the KIS clarinet becomes impractical for playing in keys with four or more sharps.

I think some people will really like using the KIS system, so I plan to start making some vintage French stencil clarinets into the KIS system. This will save some nice wooden instruments from just being thrown away, and provide sturdy, low-cost instruments for people who will use the clarinet in these ways:

Have a clarinet on a stand, ready-to-play with a synthetic reed. Just pick it up for a few quick rifs.